The Switch
by ConfusedColumbia26220
Summary: When Madame Ivonne Thénardier wakes up in the year 2013, she thinks she's completely lost her marbles. And who is that person she sees when she looks in the mirror? Based on 2012's movie-musical.
1. Chapter 1

Madame Thénardier spotted Cosette, who seemed to be brushing the floor, but lazily so. At least, for Madame Thénardier's standards, it was lazy. "Now, look who's here!" her voice startled Cosette. "The little madam herself – pretending once again she's been so awfully good." Cosette was no Eponine and there for the Thénardiers made her work twice as much. Madame Thénardier was extra snippy due to her pregnancy, which no one was supposed to know about yet. "Better not let me catch you slacking!" she warned Cosette. "Better not catch my eye! Ten rotten francs your mother sends me, what is that gonna buy?" She was not Cosette's mother, no sir. A woman named Fantine stopped by one night, begging for a safe place for her daughter to stay while she searched for a job. She told them she would pay for whatever she could as long as her Cosette would have a bed in which to sleep and food to eat. Not ones to turn down extra money, the Thénardiers were quick to take baby Cosette in.

Madame Thénardier realized they were lacking in water, more noticeable as she was getting thirsty herself. "Now take that pail, my little _mademoiselle_," she ordered Cosette. "And go and draw some water from the well." She hardly gave her the chance to move before she began to rant, "We should never have taken you in, in the first place, how stupid the things that we do! Like mother, like daughter, the scum of the street!" No doubt that was Fantine's way of sending them what little money she sent, prostitution.

Eponine burst into the room then, "Mama!"

Madame Thénardier turned to face her daughter, about to comment on the new hat she was wearing, when all of a sudden she felt light headed. Next thing she knew, she was on the floor. Then her world faded to black.

"Mama?" Eponine rushed closer. "Mama!" She tried shaking her awake, but she was out cold. "Mama?!" Tears gathered in her eyes. "Daddy!" she wailed. Surely he would know what to do.


	2. Chapter 2

Alyssa was throwing a party at her apartment, as she was moving out within the month. It might be the last chance to see a lot of her friends. Including herself, there were seven people in attendance, even though over twenty people had been invited. An hour in, there was only one person completely sober. She was a seventeen year old girl who hated alcohol and cigarettes, due to her father. Her name was Lauren.

At the party, a Wii that was brought by one of the guests was set up. "Let's play _Just Dance_!" Alyssa suggested in excitement.

"Who wants to play?" Troy asked. He was the one who brought the Wii.

"I do!" Lauren answered in unison with Katie.

"And I make four. Alright, let's play." Troy made sure everyone's remote was set up properly before picking the song. Once the song was playing, the dancing began.

A couple minutes into the song, while she was scoring a lot of points, too, Lauren fell to the floor, knocking Katie down in the process. Alyssa stopped dancing, pushing her purple hair out of her eyes. "What happened? She doesn't even drink!"

Katie sat up with Lauren still on top of her. "Come on, sweetie," she murmured as she lightly slapped Lauren's cheek. "Wake up."

"She didn't just, like, drop dead, did she?" Alyssa asked. "I would be so fucked!"

Troy placed gentle fingers to Lauren's neck. "Her pulse is strong, so I'm pretty sure she's alive."

"Could just be heat exhaustion," Katie suggested. "I mean, that dance was pretty intense." She stroked Lauren's dirty-blonde hair fondly. "Poor thing, she's completely unconscious."

"Let's move her to the couch," Alyssa stated. "That way, she'll be comfortable when she wakes up." No one argued with her. A couple minutes later, Lauren was laying on the couch.


	3. Chapter 3

Madame Thénardier awoke with a gasp for air. She felt as if she were on a cushiony surface, certainly more cushiony than the floor had been. Perhaps her husband had moved her onto a bed. But, as she sat up, she noticed it was too small to be a bed. She also noticed she was corset-less and skirt-less. In fact, she wasn't even at the Inn anymore. Where was she, then? She glanced down, seeing that her legs were clad in what appeared to be black stocking, and nothing else. She was wearing a black shirt with an odd bonnet type thing attached to the back of the neck with white pointy images speckled all across. Only her shoulders were covered. Her breasts seemed to have shrunken, as well. Supporting them was a contraption with shoulder straps and straps across the back. It was on black color and highly uncomfortable.

"Lauren! You're awake!" A very happy Troy hugged her.

"Who?" It was her word, her thought, but not her voice. "Who are you?" She pulled out of his grasp. "What's going on? Where's Eponine? Where's my husband? Hell, where's Cosette?"

"Damn girl," Alyssa spoke. "What are you on, acid?"

She looked at the purple haired girl. "No, I'm on a settee or maybe a sofa. How can a person be on acid?" Her eyes widened a bit. "And how does your hair look like that?"

"Alyssa dyes her hair all the time," Katie answered. "Remember, sweetie?"

Their accents registered. "Are you Americans?"

"Uh, yeah, and so are you," Alyssa replied, somewhat amused. "Seriously, Lauren, what's going on in that head of yours?"

"I just want to go home!" her voice was loud enough to wake the dead.

"We can take you home," Katie offered gently, not wanting to upset her further.

"No you can't," Ivonne Thénardier muttered.

"Why not?" Troy asked.

"Because I live in France, that's why not, you bloody morons!" she snapped. Was she dreaming? If so, it was the strangest dream she had ever had.

"You live in Washington," Alyssa replied. "Forty minutes from here."

"I do not."

"Yes you do, Lauren."

"My name isn't Lauren!" Madame Thénardier snapped, again. "It's Ivonne, Ivonne Thénardier!"

"It's Lauren Gray. Are you sure all you've had is water tonight?"

"I didn't even get that," Ivonne grumbled.

"You are not a French woman," Katie stated, interrupting her spat with Alyssa. She pulled out a compact mirror from her pocket, showing her the reflection. "You're an American teenager."

Ivonne gasped. That was someone else's face. A girl much younger than herself, twice Eponine's age, perhaps.

"Remember?" Katie prodded.

"No."

"What's my name?"

"I don't know. I don't know you."

"How about him?"

"No clue."

"Her?"

"Alyssa, only because you said her name earlier, and she has strange hair."

"How about we just take you home?" Alyssa asked.

Wherever home was supposed to be, Ivonne decided she would let them take her there. She wanted to just crawl into bed and sleep this odd dream, or whatever it was, away. She wanted to wake up to her husband, her daughter, and her chore girl. Her normal life, she wanted it back.


	4. Chapter 4

"Katie, sorry I don't know what ha—" Lauren cut herself off upon noticing Katie wasn't pinned beneath her like she thought she was. In fact, Katie wasn't there at all.

"Ivonne, you've finally waken, I see. Scared Eponine half to death, by the way."

"I'm sorry, who—?" Lauren's words were cut short again as a brunette girl ran into the room, hopping onto her lap.

"Mama, you're okay!" The little girl hugged her tightly.

Lauren stiffened in shock. "What? 'Mama'? I'm not anyone's Mama." She was really confused. Why did this young girl think that she was her mother? First off, she was seventeen. Second, she was a virgin. She didn't particularly want kids either.

"How hard did you hit your head?" Monsieur Thénardier asked. "You might not be Cosette's Mama, but you're certainly Eponine's."

"I must've hit it pretty hard," Lauren responded in a voice that wasn't her own. "When I passed out, I was with my friends. Alyssa, Katie, Troy…Where are they?"

"You don't know anyone with those names, my dear."

Lauren sighed. She was getting a headache.

"Mama…I'm hungry."

"Uh…What year is it?" She could scarcely breathe due to what she discovered was a corset.

"1839. Jesus, Ivonne are you drunk again?"

Lauren decided to play along. "What is it that you're hungry for, Eponine?"

"Do we have any blackberries? Ooh, and some hot tea would be nice."

"Let's go see." As the little girl got off of her, she caught her reflection in the vanity mirror a few feet away from her. Her reflection was not her own. In the mirror, the woman was older, but still pretty. Her hair was shorter than what Lauren was used to, a stylish rat's nest of sorts. Her skin was pale, similar to that of her own complexion. She watched as the woman in the mirror rose off of the bed. Then she focused on where the young girl was leading her.

There were no such things as refrigerators, of course. After all, it was supposedly 1839. Lauren wondered where blackberries would be placed to cool, then, unless there were blackberry bushes outside. She could make the hot tea, though, as she knew how to work a kettle. "Do you have something else in mind in case there aren't any blackberries?

"Hm…toffees?"

"Those are candy."

"I know, but they're good!"

"How about something healthier?"

"A salad would be okay, I guess."

"Well, how about this? I'll make a salad, and if I find the blackberries, I'll mix them in."

"That would be really good!" Eponine answered.

There was a thud on the floor behind them. "I got the water like you asked before you… fell," a young, blonde, fairly dirty girl stated. There was a large pail of water beside her. Lauren could hardly believe that she'd brought it in all by herself.

"Thank you."

Monsieur Thénardier came into the room. "Leave them be, child!"

"I was just—"

"Don't talk back to me, young miss!" He towered over her and pushed her away. "Now off to your room you go."

"Daddy, why are you so mean to her?" Eponine asked.

Lauren did her best to stay as far out of the conversation as possible, although she did hate to see that girl treated like that.

"I'm not mean," Monsieur Thénardier replied. "I do only what needs to be done."

Lauren went about her business, preparing the tea. She also began finding vegetables and dishware for the salad. After much searching, she managed to find the coveted blackberries. She worked as quickly as she was able. She thought to herself that she didn't care what this guy thought, she wouldn't let the other girl go hungry. She would see to it that she was fed. She didn't know whose body she was in or why, but she figured she might as well do some good while she was in it.

She heard who she guessed what was supposed to be her husband mumble something about taking a trip to the outhouse. As he left, she knew that would be her chance to get some food to the blonde girl. She handed a small bowl of salad with a fork and a cup of steaming hot tea to Eponine.

"Quick," she murmured. "Before your father gets back," She assumed that he was her father, at least. "Take this to that girl, then come straight back. I'll have yours ready for you. Careful not to spill the tea."

"Yes, Mama." Eponine kissed her on the cheek before leaving to do what was asked of her.

As Lauren prepared the rest of the food, Eponine's, herself, and her jerk of a husband's, she thought of her friends. She wondered what her body was doing. Had this woman, who owned this body, gotten inside of hers right as she had awaken in this one? Or what she still knocked out? Perhaps it was dead. Maybe she was dead and this was her afterlife, half-lived. Or maybe this woman had died, but had unfinished business and somehow Lauren got picked for the job. She didn't know. There were endless possibilities. Perhaps she were dreaming. The only thing she was positive about was her intense breast pain and her severe cramping. She wondered if it was this lady's time of the month.


	5. Chapter 5

Ivonne had to pretend that the car she had been led to was a horse drawn carriage to feel comfortable getting the. The speed, however, was much faster than that. She was terrified the entire drive. The supposed music Alyssa was playing was obnoxious, loud, and gave her a headache. She was confused just trying to figure out how the music was playing. When their destination was reached, Ivonne Thénardier was all too happy to exit the vehicle.

"Uh, you're welcome!" Alyssa called after her.

Ivonne paused. "Thank you," she responded with an awkward wave. She faced the house she, or rather Lauren, lived in. It was much smaller than the Inn. She had to smile at the small cobblestone path leading up to the porch. She was reminded of home, and therefore was mildly comforted. Walking up the path, she wondered what type of world she was about to step into. She reached the door and turned the knob.

She was greeted by a happy white dog who jumped all over her. "Hi, hi, hi," she muttered to it. "Down boy, down please." She shut the door behind of and locked out of habit. Not her habit, the girl's habit. Her body had been so accustomed to doing it that it did it automatically.

Finally, the dog left her alone. She spotted the breakfast nook a few feet away. At least that was recognizable. She had no clue what the large rectangular white thing that was behind it though. To her right she saw a large black television screen and thought it was a large obsidian rock. A little ahead of that was a small hallway that led to four doors. The one to the left had a calendar from it and led to the water heater. She caught a glimpse of the calendar. "March… 2013?" That was one hundred seventy four years from now. Or from what it had been when she passed out or fell asleep or whatever. She guessed that the door with stickers all over it and a keep out sign was the Lauren girl's room.

Opening the door, Ivonne gasped again. The room was a complete and utter death trap. Clothes and bags and papers and stuffed animals and books were scattered all over the floor. The bed looked comfortable enough for her to risk falling and breaking her neck though, so she moved onward. She slipped a few times, but somehow managed not to fall even once. When she reached the bed, she flopped on it contentedly. The clothes she was in felt much more comfortable than of her regular clothes ever had. She kicked off her shoes and snuggled under the blankets. The room was much warmer than most at the Inn in which she lived, The bed was certainly more snug, if a bit smaller. It was only big enough for one person, not two like the bed at home that she shared with her husband. Carlisle Thénardier, she wondered what her was up to. And Eponine, how was she? She had been the last thing Ivonne had seen before waking up in Lauren's body. Had Cosette still drawn water from the well as Ivonne had told her?

Suddenly, she realized by now her family was dead. Carlisle, Eponine, herself. Cosette would be, too, as well as her unborn child. It had been 1839. Now it was 2013. There was no way any of them would have survived. She shouldn't even be alive. Not in 2013, anyway. Knowing that, she felt extremely alone. All she wanted to do was go home. That's all. Was that too much to ask, she wondered as she slipped into sleep. Was it?


	6. Chapter 6

"Ivonne, your stupid poodle got outside again and I'm not chasing it back in, this time," Carlisle Thénardier told his wife. At least, what was once his wife, now a teenager in her body working to play the role hoping desperately not to slip up.

"I'll get him, Mama," Eponine offered. "If you want me to."

Lauren was reminded of her own dog at home who always managed to get loose and run around in the field behind the house. "That would be nice of you, dear," she replied to Eponine with a smile. She had a nice daughter. Lauren didn't, of course, but this Ivonne woman whose body now belonged to Lauren did. She hadn't actually seen the dog, but she imagined Ivonne wouldn't want to lose it. Lauren would be sad if her own dog got lost, they'd had her since she was a puppy and for years after.

Eponine went outside to go find their poodle. She thought about asking Cosette to help her, but she didn't want to make her father angrier at her. As long as she could remember Cosette had lived with them. She was so used to her being around that she had thought she was her sister. That all changed a couple years or so back, when her parents had to explain to her that they weren't and why Cosette was there at all. Of course, her father didn't have the patience that her mother did. He had gotten quite snappy, expecting Eponine to suddenly stop treating Cosette like a sister. He didn't want them to even be in the same room together until Eponine got the message clear that he wanted her to have. Her mother had been a bit more understanding about the confusion. The girls were close in age and the Thénardiers had let the two play together when they were toddlers. Carlisle probably wouldn't admit it, not even to himself, but there was a time that they had enjoyed having little Cosette around. Once upon a time they really had treated her like their own. Only, as times grew harder and money grew thinner, Eponine became the favorite child simply because she had been born to them while Cosette had not. Therefore Eponine got spoiled while Cosette started getting treated like dirt.

Eponine knew her mother wasn't a saint, sometimes she'd give Cosette more chores or less food, she'd get angry and yell. But it had never been as often as her father had. Her mother certainly never raised her voice or finger at her, but sometimes her father would. Eponine figured that her mother didn't know about that, she wasn't going to tell her and she made Cosette promise not to tell either. The only reason why Cosette knew in the first place is because she'd seen it first hand. Carlisle had been a little drunk and hadn't liked something Eponine had said so he gave her a bright red cheek in the shape of his hand. Her mother hadn't been home when it happened, if she had Eponine might have ran to her, sought comfort, told everything. She wasn't home, though, so she ran to Cosette instead. They hid together. When Eponine stopped crying, she made her promise she wouldn't tell. That hadn't been the first time it happened, but it wasn't the last.

Eponine wondered if her mother knew anyway. Maybe that was why she never yelled when she was around, why she was always so nice to her. Or maybe, Eponine pondered for a moment. Maybe it had happened to her, too. She tried to brush that thought away as she found the poodle. She had to shift focus in order to catch the dog and bring him back inside. She almost had him when he decided to run further away and under a cart. Eponine went after him and her dress got pinned down by the cart. The material caused the cart to get stuck and as she tried to yank the dress up from underneath it, it fell onto the side and knocked her down. She howled in pain.

"Mama!" she screamed. "Daddy!" The wood of the cart was cutting into her and it hurt. There was nothing she had experienced that was more painful.

Lauren froze. She looked at Carlisle. "Is that Eponine?!"

Carlisle blinked a couple times. "I think so," he answered.

Lauren cursed her dress for slowing her down as she lifted the skirts and ran outside. "Oh my god." Tears gathered in her eyes for this girl she barely knew. "Oh my god!" she repeated. She ran over to the cart. "Someone help!" She wanted to shake all the people who were walking by as if nothing were going on. It pissed her off that people were ignoring it because it wasn't their family. "That's my daughter under there!"

"Mama?"

"Yes, Eponine, I'm here." Lauren knelt beside her, glad it wasn't her top half that was under the cart. She brushed Eponine's hair out of her face. "I'm here."

"It hurts… so much."

"It's okay, baby, it's okay," Lauren choked out. She hoped it would be okay. "We're going to get you out, I promise." Tears were clouding her vision. She wouldn't forgive herself if this girl died. If Ivonne got her body back, she wouldn't want a dead daughter.

"Can we get those toffees?"

"Yes, Eponine. Once we get you out from under here, we can get anything you want." That's it, she wasn't waiting any longer. She stood up and grabbed onto the cart, lifting it as much as she could.

"Ivonne, you're going to throw out your back!" Carlisle protested.

"I don't care about my back right now!" Lauren shot back. "Now, help me, damn it! She's your daughter too!"

Carlisle obeyed, doing his part in lifting the cart. "We're not strong enough!" he panted.

"Anyone who helps us right now will get to stay in our Inn free of charge!" Lauren wanted to give some incentive to people who might walk right on by otherwise. A couple people came over to help.

A few more minutes and Eponine was freed from the cart, but she was bleeding pretty bad. Lauren scooped her into her arms. "You find that damn dog," she snapped at her husband. In an indirect way, what happened to Eponine had been his fault. If he'd gone after the dog himself, Eponine would be safe. She carried Eponine back inside.

"I'm cold, Mama."

"Stay with my, sweetie," Lauren murmured. She was getting scared. Cold and bleeding is never a good thing. "We're going to get you all fixed up, okay? You'll warm up again and we'll go get those toffees, yeah?" She sat Eponine down on a bed and peeled her blood-soaked dress off. She found some clean rags and held them to Eponine's stomach to stop the bleeding. The rags were soaked with blood in no time. Lauren pressed harder. If she didn't stop the bleeding, she would bleed to death. Lauren remembered reading somewhere that people only have eight pints of blood in their bodies. "Stay awake, okay? Don't fall asleep."

"But I'm so tired…"

"I know, honey, but it's very important that you stay awake right now."

"I'll try, Mama."

"Good. Just keep on trying to stay awake, listen to the sound of my voice."

"Am I dreaming, Mama?"

"No, Eponine, you're not dreaming. I wish you were, but you're not." She noticed the bleeding had stopped. That was good. She needed to bandage her up but didn't want to risk leaving her even for a second. So she tore strips off from the dress she was wearing. "This might hurt a little bit," she warned. "And I'm sorry, but I have to do it." She wrapped each strip around her stomach like gauzed bandages. She tied them securely to ensure none of them would fall off. "Still with me, sweetheart?"

"Unh huh," Eponine answered tiredly, weakly.

"How do you feel?"

"Better. It doesn't hurt as much. But I'm still so tired."

"You can rest a little bit," Lauren told her. "But I'm staying right here, okay? I don't want anything else happening to you."

"Okay." Eponine got as comfortable as she could, snuggling into her arms. "I love you, Mama."

"I love you, too, Eponine." Lauren stroked her hair gently and held her close. She wanted to feel and hear her breathing in her sleep. As long as it took until she knew she was completely safe and okay again. Even after she would wake up, Lauren would keep her close by at all times, probably for the rest of the day. She grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around Eponine so she'd be a little bit warmer and more comfortable. Lauren wouldn't let herself sleep at all, she just held Eponine and concentrated, focused on her breathing. Nothing else was more important at the moment, not even herself. She began to feel nauseous but stayed put, silently battling the contents of her stomach that wanted to come back up, keeping them at bay.


	7. Chapter 7

Ivonne awoke in a stranger's bed. It took a minute for her to remember why. She slid out of the bed and looked around. "I don't care who you are," she muttered. "I'm cleaning this damn room. I don't care how long it takes." How anyone could live in such a mess, she couldn't understand. A few minutes after she began what was to be a very laborious task, she came upon a photo album. Curious, she grabbed it from the floor and peeked inside. The story of Lauren's life was displayed before her eyes.

Pictures of friends, family, pets, birthday parties, school photos, Halloween costumes, and snippets of magazines were all inside. Most of them were labeled, making it easier to understand what the pictures meant. One thing, Ivonne noticed, was that pictures no must be much cheaper to obtain than pictures back in the 1800s. The one picture that Ivonne had, a family portrait, had cost well over five hundred francs. The frame alone was two hundred francs, and an additional hundred something per person. Once she'd glanced at the last picture, she closed the album and returned it to where it had been.

She picked up where she'd left off in cleaning Lauren's room. It would've been great to have Cosette there with her, so as the cleaning would be faster and the workload cut in half. Alas, there was no Cosette, so Ivonne was forced to work alone.

The girl's wardrobe was a strange one, she noted. The clothing there befitted both man and woman. What a strange time this was. Ivonne supposed she should change. She was surprised when she came across a corset in the girl's possession. Perhaps the times weren't so strange, after all. The corset was beautiful, one that was meant for wear over a dress, not under. Black and green it was, even with a zipper. She contemplated wearing it, but decided the other options would be much more comfortable. And they were. She traded the odd shirt for a nice, ruffly white one. In place of the leggings, she threw on long white pants. She found sensible white shoes with a small heel to match.

Once she was properly clothes, she again returned to cleaning the room. This time she didn't take a break until she'd spent two hours doing nothing but cleaning. Even then, the only reason she stopped was because her stomach started growling. Pleased with what she had already accomplished, she allowed herself to take a break and left the room in search of food.

She went to the kitchen, opening cupboards and drawers. Upon finding only dishware, she decided to open the white rectangular thing that she still didn't recognize. There she found food, and beer. She grabbed what appeared to be edible, the first thing that she saw, carrots. Good for your eyes, she had heard. She had expected them to be purple, like at home, but they were orange. Nonetheless, she recognized them for what they were. They were good, too, better than what she remembered. After that, grapes caught her eyes, and she had some of those. Once her stomach was content, she returned to the room. She doubted she would finish that day, or even that week, but it was a start. It would be a nice surprise whenever Lauren returned to her body, if ever. Perhaps she would write her a note and leave it on the door or bed for her to see.

She was careful not to throw anything away as she wasn't sure how attached Lauren was to certain things. What Ivonne would see as worthless, Lauren might worship. She knew that if someone were to go browsing around in her own room, throwing stuff away, she wouldn't be too happy. So, she threw nothing away, even if it appeared to be garbage. She merely moved and relocated everything she touched, attempting to organize the room in a way that made sense. At least she cleared everything off the floor, what didn't need to be there, anyway.

Suddenly, through the closed door, she heard yelling. An argument, between a man and a woman. She couldn't help but laugh, they reminded her of how she and Carlisle got at times. Though this argument sounded much more severe. She figured these were Lauren's parents. That couldn't be fun, living with parents that yelled constantly. At least when she fought with Carlisle, Eponine wasn't around. She hoped not, at least. Cosette would be present at times, but that didn't bother her as much. They weren't her parents.

"You never do anything around here to help out – you're a lazy bitch! All you do is lay around in bed and watch your fucking soap operas all day! You don't do the dishes, you don't wash your clothes, you don't clean up after yourself! I'm supposed to do it all, right? Is that what you think? Hell, you haven't had a job for well over five years! You don't even look for one anymore!" the man was yelling.

"Fuck you, you fucking cocksucker!" the woman retorted. "Last time I checked, Mr. Hot Shot, you don't have a job either –"

"Yes, but it's only been a year since I've been out of a job, and I'm actually looking for one."

"Oh, and that makes you all high and mighty, huh? That makes you King of the Castle? I don't think so! I babysit so much I don't even have time to look for a job, so sue me!"

"Yes, you always find the time to watch your stupid _Criminal Minds_, your stupid reality shows that aren't anywhere near real. And you manage to eat all the food in sight like the pig that you are…"

And it just went on and on. Ivonne wondered if the man was going to strike the woman. She shook her head. She was getting tired of hearing it. She locked the bedroom door, not wanting either of them coming in to vent at her or start something new with her because they were bored or pissed and wanted to keep yelling. She was glad Lauren wasn't little like Eponine, it just wouldn't be right for a child that age to have to hear fighting like that, especially with all that foul language. Even she was appalled by their choice of vocabulary.

Ivonne picked up a book at random to start reading. She'd do almost anything to tune out the yelling, to focus on anything else. The book she ended up reading was about vampires set in her era, the 1800s. She found it to be quite an interesting read and for quite some time reading that book was all she did.


	8. Chapter 8

Eponine stirred in her arms. She stretched a little bit as she awakened. "Mama."

"Yes, love?" Lauren responded, she was growing quite used to being called 'Mama' and answering to it. If she ever got back into her own body, she would miss this girl.

"Can we go get those toffees now?"

"Yes, I suppose we can. Let's get you dressed first, wouldn't want you to catch cold."

"I want the blue dress, Mama. The one with the white trim."

"Alright, let's go get it."

They got to their feet, Eponine kept the blanket wrapped around herself for the sake of decency, and they headed for Eponine's room. A room she sometimes shared with Cosette when her parents weren't paying attention, usually just whenever her father didn't notice. Her mother had caught them at times, and though irritated, let the, be. They weren't hurting anyone by keeping each other company at night once in a while. She wouldn't stop them from being friends just because Carlisle didn't like it. Cosette still listened to them and did her work, never complaining, even if they'd forgotten to feed her. Why rob her of the only friend she could have while living under their roof?

Lauren and Eponine opened the doors of the wardrobe. In it they found the dress Eponine had requested.

"Do you need any help putting it on?" Lauren asked.

"I think I'll need help with the laces in the back. Just don't tie them too tightly, my stomach still hurts."

"Okay, I'll be gentle."

Once Eponine pulled the dress over her head, she let the blanket fall to the floor.

"Just let me know when it's tight enough, okay?" Lauren asked as she started pulling at the laces, tightening them slowly. When she got the word, she stopped pulling and secured the laces in a bow. "How's it feel?"

"Feels just right."

"Good." Lauren didn't mind being seen in a ripped dress in public. She didn't want to change, anyway. It would take far too long and she didn't have the patience for it. Before they could leave, she had to hunt down a purse. She knew what to look for. She had seen movies and television shows where characters had small cloth purses with drawstrings that would hold a few coins. From what she had seen, toffees were often inexpensive, costing only a penny or a few pennies. _Sous_, perhaps, since it was France.

She found one inside the drawer of the bed table that stood next to the bed Ivonne shared with Carlisle. The bed where she, now, would probably have to share with him. Armed with a purse, they were now free to set out for the toffees. Lauren supposed she should bring some back for her husband, and for that Cosette girl, too.

"So, what kind of toffees should we get?" Lauren asked Eponine.

"I like the ones with caramel inside," Eponine answered. "But I also like the ones with butterscotch."

"Then we shall get them both if they have them." Lauren had never imagined she would be going to market for toffees in 1800s France, 1839 to be exact, yet there she was.

"Really? Both kinds?"

"I'd get you five kinds after what you've gone through. I'd get you ten kinds."

Eponine hugged her from the side. "Thank you. You're the best."

"You're welcome." Lauren patted the top of her head fondly.

Eponine reached for her hand and held onto it.

Together they walked, hand in hand, until they reached the marketplace.

"Ooh. They have toffee covered cherries, too. Shall we get those as well?"

Eponine bounced eagerly at her side. As much as she could bounce, that is. "Can we?"

"We most certainly can." Lauren paid for all three kinds of toffees. "Do you want to help me carry them?"

"Yes," Eponine answered, holding her arms out.

There were two boxes each Lauren had grabbed, and she handed three of them to Eponine, carrying the other three herself. There would certainly be enough for all four of them. Her mouth was already watering. She could hardly even smell the toffees, yet her mouth was watering. Why was that? She winced as she felt a sharp pain in her left breast. It felt like a cramp. It wasn't the first time, either. The pieces were sliding together in her mind. The breast pain, the cramping, the nausea, the hyperactive taste buds. She, or rather Ivonne, was pregnant, and she was the one with the symptoms. She was a virgin, and there was a baby growing inside her. Of course, it wasn't her that took part in the action to get pregnant, and it wasn't her body, but nonetheless there was a baby growing inside it. She was eating for two now and she had to take extra care, not only because of being in someone else's body, but because of someone else being inside of that someone else's body.

"Can I have one now, Mama?"

"What?"

"A toffee," Eponine answered. "Can I have one now?"

"Oh. Yes, you can have one now. But only one. We should save the rest until we get back. I'm sure your father and Cosette will want some, too."

Eponine was surprised. She thought she was going to have to sneak some of the toffees to Cosette later when her parents were sleeping. Then again, her mother had sent her to Cosette with food for her after her father had sent her away to her room. "Speaking of Cosette," she began. "Did she come in at all after I fell asleep? Did… Did she check on me?"

"Come to think of it, she did come by worried about you. She heard you scream, too."

"She probably could have seen it all through the window in her room," Eponine stated.

"When we get back, you can bring her some of the toffees."

Eponine smiled. "You're being really nice to her today. I like it when you're as nice to her as you are to me. Especially since Daddy isn't particularly nice to her ever."

Lauren was starting to wonder why Ivonne was even with that guy. He seemed like a grade-A jerk. Despite that, "Well, he's nice to you, isn't he? That ought to count for something." If only she knew.

Eponine's eyes welled with tears that she willed away. Each day, it seemed, that was becoming less and less true. She only hoped he still treated her mother right. Cause as long as she was happy with him, she would put up with his sometimes cruel words and fits of anger during which she got beat. If dear Mama was happy, it was all worth it. Though she had to admit, being under that cart had hurt more than anything her father could ever do to her.


	9. Chapter 9

Before she knew it, Ivonne had finished the vampire novel and the day was half gone. She looked around the room and decided continuation of the cleaning could wait until the next day.

Now that the arguing had long since ceased, Ivonne let herself venture outside the bedroom. The dog that had greeted her the previous night sat in the middle of the living room floor, tail wagging back and forth.

"Hello again," Ivonne spoke with a smile. The dog was much prettier in the light. White, dark eyes, and wolfish features. It got up and rubbed its nose against her leg, not unlike a cat. She scratched the fur of its head, right between the ears. The tail wagged faster.

She broke contact with the dog and headed for the futon. She sat on it gradually, testing it. It was quite comfortable, so she allowed herself to recline in full.

The obsidian rock, or what she had thought was an obsidian rock, that was in front of her now had people on it that were talking about things she couldn't comprehend.

"What the…?" That wasn't something you see every day. Not in 1839, at least. Little did Ivonne know, in present day America, it was indeed something one saw every day.

"You can change the channel if you want, I'm not watching it anymore," stated the man whom she assumed was Lauren's father.

Ivonne wondered how one could do that. Channels, she had thought, were bodies of water. "Uh, how do I do that?"

"With the remote control, duh," he answered. "Did you get wasted at that party?"

"No…" She should have though, she thought. She grabbed what she supposed was the remote control. She looked at the buttons. One said 'execute' and she wondered if she pressed it one of the people would get beheaded. She wanted to try it. To her disappointment, no such thing happened. "What's the point of the execute button if it doesn't cut their heads off?"

The man looked at her as if she'd grown a second head.

"What?"

"Who are you?"

Ivonne froze. "What – What do you mean?"

"You're more twisted than I thought."

"Yeah, that's me, I guess," Ivonne replied. She returned her attention to the television. How was one supposed to work that thing? She pressed another button and the people on the screen changed, as did the language. It was a Mexican soccer game. She watched for a moment before hitting another button. The sound disappeared completely.

"Shit, what did I do?" She hit the same button again. The sound came back. "Oh. Okay. Good. I think." Another button and she was nearly startled off her seat. On the screen was a woman who looked similar to her reflection, the one she'd had while in her own body, anyway. Except this woman's hair was slightly better and she was singing in an English accent. Ivonne sounded nothing like that when she sang, but other than than the woman could have been her twin.

"It's priest," the woman onscreen sang. "Have a little priest."

"Is it really good?" sang a man beside her with dark hair that had a wild white streak in it.

"Sir, it's too good, at least."

Ivonne kept watching, intrigued.

"And we'll serve anyone, meaning anyone and to anyone at all!" They sang in unison together and the song ended.

After that, there was a song during which the man onscreen slit the throats of many men, blood splurting everywhere. Ivonne gasped. What the hell was she watching?

Next came a song where the woman was selling pies and one line tipped her off that the pies the woman onscreen was selling were made out of human meat. As a man walked up the stairs to where the murderous man was, the woman sang, "Bless my eyes! Fresh supplies!"

"Ugh. That is bloody disgusting," Ivonne scoffed. Still, that didn't stop her from watching. She was captivated by her likeness to the woman onscreen. And then practically everyone in the whole story died and Ivonne was pissed.

"Seriously? They ended it like _that?_ That's just not right."

The next thing that came on was about a kid who received a letter on his 11th birthday about a school he was chosen to attend and then he was suddenly a wizard. Ivonne found that she quite liked this device that told her stories with actual people. There was nothing to be left to the imagination that way. People back in 1839 simply had no idea what they were missing. Too bad none of them would live to see. She shouldn't even be alive to see, but she wasn't about to complain. It was, in a word, quite awesome, if she did say so herself.


	10. Chapter 10

Lauren woke up the next day next to Carlisle. Thankfully, there was plenty of space between them. Nonetheless Lauren could smell the alcohol on his breath was disgusted by it. She just couldn't understand why everyone, no matter the time period, had such a fascination with alcohol. It wrecked your liver and motor skills, not to mention potentially your social life. Perhaps she could teach Eponine that drinking was a bad idea, if she hadn't come to that conclusion herself, that is.

She rolled out of bed and hastily found something to wear that covered more than just a mere nightgown. White was a particularly see through color, and she didn't want Carlisle ogling at her lady bits, no matter that it wasn't her own body and that he'd already seen enough to get her pregnant twice. She went with a brown dress that came with a corset that covered everything, revealing nothing at all.

As she dressed, there was a knock at the door. She rushed to finish and made her way downstairs to the door. When she opened the door, she saw a man with Cosette at his side. Before she could say anything, he spoke, "I found her outside lugging a bucket that must've been half her weight." Again, before she could speak, he went on, "And I am here to help Cosette, I will settle any debt you may think proper. I will pay what I must pay to take Cosette away."

How Carlisle got there so quick, Lauren didn't know. She jumped as he spoke behind her, walking to join her at the door. "What to do? What to say? Shall you carry our treasure away? What a gem, what a pearl. Beyond rubies is our little girl. How can we talk of debt? Let us not haggle for darling Collette."

"Cosette!" Lauren corrected him, blown away by how he'd got her name wrong.

"Cosette," he corrected himself.

"There is a duty I must heed," the other man spoke. "There is a vow that I have made. For I was blind to one in need. And your mother is with God," he said to Cosette. "Her suffering is over. And I speak here with her voice, and I stand here in her place. Cosette shall have a father now."

"Dear Fantine, gone to rest, have we done for her child what is best? I think so. Shared our bread, shared each bone, treated her like she's one of our own, like our own _monsieur_."

"Let us not talk of bargains and bones and greed, now may I say we are agreed?" The man held up a handful of bills.

Carlisle's eyes lit up like a kid at Christmas. Surely if the man had that much on his person he had more. "That would quite fit the bill, if she hadn't so often been ill. Little dear cost us dear, medicines are expensive, _monsieur_. Not that we'd begrudge a _sous_, it's no more than we Christians must do."

"No more words, here's your price. 1500 for your sacrifice."

"Uh, no." Lauren grabbed hold of Cosette and pulled her back inside. "I don't care who you are or if her mother's dead or not. You can't buy a child. She left her to our keeping. Forgive me for saying, but I don't think your intentions are quite correct, sir." She paused before closing the door. "And I bet that money is counterfeit anyway." She closed the door and locked it.

"What the hell was that, Ivonne? You just turned down a lot of money and the chance to rid ourselves of this child!"

"It's called using common sense. That man could have been a rapist, a murder, or worse."

Cosette was confused. Just yesterday the woman was saying that they shouldn't have taken her in, that they were stupid for doing so, and that she and her mother were nothing but the scum of the street. Now a man had offered to pay to take her away, and she flat out denied the offer. She could tell Carlisle had been faking his affection, but somehow Ivonne's concern hadn't seemed false.

Eponine came down the stairs. "Who was at the door?"

"None of your business!" Carlisle snapped as Lauren calmly replied,

"No one of your concern, honey." She glared daggers at Carlisle for snapping at his daughter only for the fact that she was curious. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Cosette run up the stairs past Eponine and watched as Eponine ran up after her. She sighed. The longer she was there, the more and more dysfunctional the year 1839 got.

"Who was at the door, Cosette?" Eponine asked softly.

"I don't know. Some man who was gonna pay to take me away, but she stopped him."

"Well, that's a good thing, isn't it?"

Cosette shook her head. "A part of me wanted to go with him. I'm tired of cleaning and being yelled at. I'm tired of being hungry when they forget to feed me or when you can't sneak anything to me. I'm tired of him. I'm tired of him hitting me. I'm tired of him hitting you. I just wish things were the way they used to be. Back when they both cared about me, when they loved me as much as they loved you. I'm tired of us having to be friends in secret."

Eponine wrapped her arms around her in a hug. "It'll get better, Cosette. It'll get better someday, I promise."

"I hope you're right." She rested her head on the other girl's shoulder. "I really do."

"It won't be long before we can move away. Court a few boys, find one to marry. And we'll make sure they're nothing like Father, they'll be sweet and kind, they'll treat us like princesses, and they'll love us more than anything, more than life itself."

"You think so?"

"Yes, I think so."


	11. Chapter 11

It was nearing the end of the day when Ivonne was hungry again. She decided she could figure out something to make out of the food that was available to her. After coming upon cheese and eggs, she decided to make cheese omelettes. Working the stove was different from working the stove she was used to at home, but she got used to it and figured it out. She was adjusting to being years ahead in the future slowly, yet much quicker than she'd expected. She was certainly enjoying the break she was having from her responsibilities at home, and the break from being a wife and a mother. She didn't miss her pregnancy symptoms, either.

She did, however, miss being pregnant. While pregnant, one was never lonely. Knowing that you were growing a tiny human inside you was an amazing feeling. Being inside someone else's body had cost her that feeling. She gladly gave away the morning sickness, and would do it again in a heartbeat. Let someone else suffer for a while. What she missed most was the companionship. Never had she known a stronger bond than that shared by mother and child for those first nine months. Without it, she felt empty. She sighed, missing her baby.

All the while, she kept busy, making sure the cheese omelettes were made just right. She briefly wondered if this Lauren girl had a boyfriend. Maybe it was that Troy guy who'd been so happy when she'd woken up at the party. It would make sense. But she didn't know for sure. Maybe she'd find out later, have a little fun with it. For now, though, she had to be content getting to know the house that was to be her home until she was returned to her rightful body, and perhaps the people in it.

As she slid her omelettes onto a plate, she caught sight of what was inside the tank that was sitting at the far right end of the breakfast nook and nearly jumped out of her skin. It was a snake, though small, appeared to be very dangerous, especially hungry with its tongue flicking out. "Christ almighty, these people are crazy." No one in their right mind would keep a snake as a pet. No one she knew, anyway. At least it wouldn't be able to get out. It made her uncomfortable though, so after making sure the stove was turned off, Ivonne took her plate and fork to Lauren's room where she could eat in peace without feeling the eyes of the snake burning into her. She was sure she was going to have nightmares that night thanks to the damn thing.

Nightmares were bad enough in the comfort of your own home, surrounded by people you were familiar with, but in someone else's home, surrounded by strangers, that couldn't be fun. She imagined she would have to revert back to childhood characteristics and hide under the blankets, pretending that they were the best of shields. Despite knowing it was silly, childish, and untrue, Ivonne thought it just might help in the face of nightmares.

She wondered what would come next. A job at the circus, perhaps. A nest of spiders hiding in the bureau, maybe. Neither would particularly surprise her after what she'd seen so far. Just for thinking that, Ivonne didn't want to go into the bureau anytime soon. The wardrobe alone would simply have to do. She surveyed its contents from where she sat on the bed, trying to find a nightgown or something resembling one. Once she would finish eating, she would probably have to turn in for bed. She wasn't about to sleep in her clothes for a second time, either. The outfit she was wearing wasn't comfortable enough for doing so, anyway. The wardrobe held mainly jackets from what she could see, though she did spot an oversized shirt that could be used for a nightgown. Once she finished her cheese omelettes, she grabbed the shirt, changed into it, and took the dishes back to the kitchen where she laid them in the sink.

She didn't see Lauren's father or who seemed to be her mother, or perhaps step mother, nor did she particularly care to. She wasn't a child and didn't care to be treated like one, so she was content to meet them at length later. Perhaps she'd seek their company, once she got lonely enough, but until then she might like to avoid them as often as possible. She wasn't too eager to wind up inadvertently in the middle of one of their arguments. She might not have the ability to smack them into their senses if she were. That was an easy enough task at home, but she didn't doubt it would be much harder here.

She sighed as she returned to the bedroom. It wasn't taking very long to become bored, but perhaps that was because it was better than the alternative, which was to be absolutely disturbed by nearly everything in sight. Though that snake did impede on her boredom. That she was disturbed by, and probably always would be. She shuddered as she wondered what it ate. In the wild, surely snakes would make do with what they found, or whatever it was that was in their nature. But in captivity it was people that would have to feed them. She had the feeling that it wasn't merely crickets.

"Seriously, Ivonne, are you that masochistic that you must torture yourself with these thoughts?" she asked herself. She shook her head. It was clear she needed sleep. She laid on the bed and turned to her side, lazily picking up another book to read until she fell asleep. It was a creative take on what the first woman Eve's life might have been like. She hoped they made her rather independent. There was nothing worse, in her opinion, than a woman whose every action depended on a man, whether it be upon his love or obeying his every word. Women were just as independent as men and stories that depicted them as such had Ivonne's seal of approval. She read a few pages before dozing off, book slipping from her hand onto the floor.


	12. Chapter 12

Lauren avoided Carlisle as much as possible. He was angry at her for not letting that man buy Cosette, which she thought was just ridiculous. The fact that he'd wanted to made Lauren decide she was done playing the part of his wife and would focus on being a mother instead. That poor Cosette girl could certainly use more nice people in her life, that was for sure. She decided she was going to be one of them, no matter if Ivonne herself was nice to her or not. Lauren was there now, so it was Lauren's rules. Lauren's rules said Cosette came before Carlisle, much, much before.

She found the girl when the day was half gone. She was in her room, playing with a cloth that had been twisted to form a doll. She'd jumped when she saw Lauren. "What… What do you want me to do? I've already swept the floors and washed the windows."

"I don't want you to do anything."

Cosette looked at her with a confused expression. "You don't?"

Lauren shook her head.

"Then why are you here? Not to be disrespectful, seeing as this is your home."

"I'm here 'cause I want to be," Lauren answered. "I'd much rather be with you than with my husband," she stated honestly.

Cosette searched for signs of a beating. That was the only reason she could think of that she was preferable company over him. She didn't see so much as a bruise on her, though. "Why me? Why not Eponine, seeing as she's your real daughter? I'm just nothing."

"I've already spent time with Eponine. Now it's your turn."

"But why? Just yesterday you didn't want me here and said I was no better than the scum of the street."

Now Lauren could see that Ivonne wasn't particularly nice to Cosette, either. Or perhaps the cruel words were the result of the pregnancy hormones. That was possible.

"Sorry about that, wasn't feeling quite like myself yesterday."

"Why didn't you just let that man take me away? Monsieur Thénardier wanted to."

"I didn't trust him," Lauren answered simply. "His intentions might not have been kind."

"Have you met Monsieur Thénardier? His intentions aren't kind." Cosette almost brought Eponine up, but she wasn't going to break her promise. If Eponine wanted her to know, she'd tell her herself.

Lauren sighed. There wasn't much she could do about that. "Not always," she agreed. "But he wouldn't do some of the things that stranger might have."

"You almost sound like you care."

"Well, I do."

"Then why do you turn away? Why do you pretend you don't know?"

"Pretend I don't know what?" What didn't Lauren know? What didn't Lauren know that Ivonne might know?

"That he hits me."

"I can assure you I didn't know that." What an abusive, money hungry bastard. If she were Ivonne she'd get a divorce and claim full custody of Eponine and Cosette. Hell, maybe she still could. Maybe there was a way for her to contact Ivonne, to ask her what she'd want to do. She didn't know how she would find out how to do so, though.

"You didn't?" Cosette asked, surprised. "You really didn't know that?"

"I really didn't know that."

"Are you going to do anything, though? Now that you know."

"I don't know what it is I can do. Just stay away from him, that's my advice."

"You think I don't try that already? 'Cause I do. It doesn't work. If he wants to, he can find me, and he usually does.

Lauren sighed. "I'm sorry for that. Do you want me to report him?"

Cosette laughed. "Report Monsieur Thénardier? Report him to who? Who would listen? Who would believe it? He's friends with most law people, but you know that. A lot of them stay here from time to time. You'd be wasting your time if you tried."

"Then how am I supposed to help you, Cosette? If you can't hide from him and I can't report him, what am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know."

"I can tell you what I won't do, though. I won't hit you."

"I know. You never do. I thought maybe that was because he hit you too."

Lord Almighty on a stick, did he? Did he hit Ivonne? And what about Eponine, did he hit her, too?

"Well, he hasn't," Lauren replied. "If he did, I wouldn't be with him." Not that she herself had much choice in the matter. "And if I'd known he hit you, I might have left him a long time ago."

"Is that what you're gonna do? Are you gonna leave him?"

"I don't know, Cosette. I really don't. But I might. And if I do, you won't have to worry about him anymore."

"What about me? Will I be out on the streets, then?"

"Lord, no! You'd be with me and Eponine."

"You're serious?"

"I'm serious." Lauren wondered if Ivonne stayed with him because she was pregnant again and wanted the child to have a father. It made sense.

"But it's only an if."

"Yes, it's only an if."

"And if you stay with him?"

"I don't know. Things around here will change, though. You won't have to work so hard, for instance."

"Maybe not under your word, but Monsieur Thénardier won't stop. And will I actually start getting three meals a day again?"

They withheld food from the poor girl, too? Assholes. "Yes. If he doesn't like it, I'll just tell him to stick it where the sun don't shine."

"You being this nice to me is really weird, you know that, right?"

Lauren shrugged. "If I'm weird, I'm weird."

"How do I know you won't just forget about all of this when you wake up tomorrow?"

"You'll just have to trust me."

"That could be dangerous."

"Isn't it worth the risk?"

"I suppose it is," Cosette answered. It would be a life without Monsieur Thénardier or a life greatly improved with him still in it. It really was a win-win situation.


	13. Chapter 13

Ivonne could have sworn she was looking into a mirror. At least, until the 'reflection' started talking, "Hello, Ivonne."

Ivonne blinked a couple times. "You're Lauren," she realized.

"I am. Well, I was. I seem to be you now."

"And I'm you."

"We've got all that figured out now. Good."

"How is this happening?"

"I think we're dreaming."

"That makes sense, I guess."

"I think maybe it's because we're linked somehow, being in each other's bodies and all."

Ivonne nodded. "How did that happen, anyway? How do we get back?"

"I don't know the answer to either of those questions."

Ivonne sighed. "Great," she muttered.

"But now that we have this opportunity to speak, I have a question for you."

"Yes?"

"Did you know that your husband hits that Cosette girl?"

"She's not the only one," Ivonne replied vaguely. "You should probably know I'm pregnant, though. You're the one who needs to take care for two, now."

"I know," Lauren responded. "It didn't take too long for me to figure that out. But what do you mean by Cosette's not the only one? Does Eponine – ?"

"He'd better not lay a hand on our Eponine!" Ivonne snapped, anger clear in her voice.

"So it's you," Lauren stated softly. "You're the other one."

Ivonne nodded. "I am."

"With your permission, I'll gladly help you divorce the bastard and keep the kids."

"Do you know how expensive it is to get a divorce?"

"Very. But I also know having him around isn't healthy for anyone. A couple of things have already happened that make me question why you're with him at all."

"What things?" Ivonne asked.

"Just yesterday a man showed up ready to buy Cosette and he was going to let him do it. Seems to me all he cares about is money. The day before that, he complained that your dog got out and that he wasn't going after it this time. So Eponine offered to go instead. While she was out, she got pinned under a cart. First, he didn't want me attempting to lift the thing off of her. And after she was out, he never checked to see if she was okay. I was the one who cleaned and bandaged her up. I was the one that stayed by her side. Even Cosette came by to see if she was alright. But he never did. It's almost as if he forgets he's a father at all."

"My poor Eponine…" Ivonne felt her eyes welling up with tears. "Is she alright now?"

"She's fine. Still has the bandages, but fine."

"Oh, thank God," Ivonne muttered with relief.

"I'm trying to give you a choice in what you want me to do while I'm in control of your life. Are we going for the divorce? Would you rather have a husband as a father to your second child? What am I doing here?"

"Whichever you do, be careful. Once you're on his bad side, you stay there for quite some time. You and certainly the baby don't deserve to face him when he's angry."

"So, he's an angry drunk, then."

"Yes, he's a very angry drunk. Be careful. I don't want to lose my baby. Not this time." Once upon a time she'd gotten Carlisle angry while she was pregnant. He'd pushed her down a flight of stairs and the fall did much damage to her belly, the trauma too much for the baby inside to handle. She lost it.

"I'll protect it," Lauren promised. "I'll protect it with my life. Eponine and Cosette, too. If anyone hurts either of them, it won't be pretty. I'll do my best to make sure Carlisle's abusive hands don't get anywhere near Eponine."

"Thank you, Lauren Gray. What can I do for you while I reside in your body?"

"You can make sure my Dad doesn't know about Katie."

"Doesn't know what about her?"

"That she's my girlfriend."

"Romantic girlfriend?"

"Yeah."

"That's new."

"And if I have to be Carlisle's wife, you have to be Katie's girlfriend. Date her. Can't have her forgetting about me."

Ivonne widened her eyes. "I – I guess I could do that."

"Thank you, Ivonne Thénardier. Though you never told me what you wanted me to do. Divorce him or stay with him?" She looked straight into her eyes. "Pick one."

"Stay," Ivonne answered. "For now, stay. Maybe try for a divorce later, but not right now. He doesn't even know I'm pregnant again. No one does. But I do. And I want my son or daughter to have a father, at least for a little while, even if it's just while they're in the womb."

Lauren nodded. "I'm not sure if or when we'll meet again like this. But I'll do the best I can to take care of your family. You're probably better off avoiding mine altogether. Just keep Katie happy and don't let Dad find out about her."

"Okay."

"And try not to be too disturbed by all the new and unfamiliar things. There's a lot that exists in 2013 that wasn't even thought of in 1839.

"I noticed. I'm quite fond of the picture box which holds many different stories."

Lauren chuckled. "You seem to be adapting well. I'm sure you'll be just fine in my world."

"I must tell you, if I am not the one in my body when the time comes for my child to be born, remember this. If the child is female, I want the name to be Azelma. If the child is male, I want the name to be Gavroche."

"Duly noted. What if there's more than one?"

"Then the second female child shall be named after me and the second male child shall be named after Carlisle. I honestly hope there's no more than that."

"Alright. I don't know whether or not to say good bye. I don't know how to leave and it would be rather awkward if we both just sat here doing nothing until we wake up."

"Yes, I suppose it would be." She crossed her arms. "I don't know how to leave, either."


	14. Chapter 14

Lauren found herself waking again, in the Thénardiers' bed, of course. This time Carlisle wasn't beside her and she was glad for that. She decided she might as well make breakfast. She found Carlisle to be running business, welcoming people to the Inn. How rude of him, accepting guests while she had been asleep. Didn't matter much, though, she had little interest in running the Inn with him. She was impressed with herself when she discovered she could make pie. Since Eponine had liked blackberries, it was a blackberry pie. How that qualified as breakfast, Lauren didn't know, but it would be served as breakfast anyway. In case people also paid for food at the Inn, Lauren made extra. If not, there would be more for them later as a snack.

"Mama?" Eponine came to her side.

"Yes?"

"When can I take these bandages off? They're starting to itch."

"It would be best to leave them there for another day or two. Just to be safe."

Eponine sighed. "Alright." She rose onto her tiptoes. "What're you making?"

"Blackberry pie."

"Sounds good. But why so early?"

"It's going to be breakfast."

Eponine's eyes widened. "Really?!"

"Really."

"You're the best Mama ever!"

Lauren chuckled. "Thank you, Eponine." She patted the top of her head, lightly ruffling her hair.

"Cosette can have some too, can't she?"

"Of course she can. In fact, she's going to have everything we do from now on. No more missed meals."

"Thank you, Mama. She is awfully skinny. I'd… I'd hate for anything to happen to her," the last part was quiet, a whisper. She wasn't sure it was something she should admit to her mother, but she took the risk and said it anyway. She looked up at her hopefully.

"I'll tell you a little secret. I won't let anything happen to her. Not anymore. Things around here are going to change." She finished making the second pie. Into the oven it went.

"Like how, Mama?"

"Like I'll do my best to stop your father from pushing her around, making her work so hard. And she'll be fed more often. And I know you two are friends, you don't have to hide it anymore."

"Daddy doesn't like that, though."

"Well he can't stop it though, can he?" She meant it to be rhetorical.

Tears swam in Eponine's eyes. "Mama."

Lauren glanced down at her and noticed the tears. She knelt down beside her. "What's wrong, sweetheart?"

"Mama…" Eponine threw herself at her, arms wrapping around her neck. She buried her head in her shoulder. She couldn't help it. She had to tell her. "Mama, he – he hits us."

Lauren gasped. "What?"

"He hits us, Mama. I hid it, I didn't want you to know, you seem so happy with him sometimes. I didn't want to ruin it. I didn't even think you'd believe me. I want to just forget about it, myself."

"Oh, honey." Lauren held her close. "It's alright. It'll be alright." Poor Eponine. Poor Ivonne, enduring the same abuse in hopes her daughter would never experience it, when she already does. "I'll make him stop."

"Mama, no! I don't want him hurting you, too! Please, Mama. Please, don't say anything."

"Sweetheart, I have to do something."

"Not that! Don't confront him. He'll get angry. You know how he is when he's angry."

Lauren sighed in defeat. "Okay. I won't say anything. Ssh. Come here." She stroked Eponine's hair and kissed her cheek. She wiped her tears away. "Thank you for telling me." She gently rubbed her back. "I just don't want him to hurt you again. Either of you." She pressed a kiss to her forehead. "I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you, honey." She wouldn't stop trying, though. From now on she'd watch Carlisle like a hawk.

"It's not your fault, Mama. I don't blame you."

Lauren returned to her feet and cut into the first pie. "Here." She handed Eponine a plate with a piece of pie on it. "You get the first slice."

"Thank you."

She handed Eponine a second plate. "Take this to Cosette. And tell her I'm sorry, too. That I couldn't protect her."

Eponine nodded. "Yes, Mama." She went off to do as she was told.

Lauren sighed. Everyone was a victim to Carlisle. Why? What was it about him that made him abuse his wife and daughter, plus Cosette? What horrible, horrible past did he have that made him turn out like that? What kind of future was Ivonne's second child bound to have with a father like that? She cut into the second pie again, taking her own slice. Carlisle could wait for his. She certainly wasn't about to deliver it to him, not after what she'd just learned.

"Cosette?" Eponine asked, entering the bedroom. "I've brought breakfast."

Cosette came out from where she was hiding. "Thank you." She got a good look at her face. "Were you crying?"

Eponine sighed and nodded, handing the plate to her. "I told Mama about Daddy."

"She already knew."

"What?"

"I already told her."

"But I told her about me."

"Oh. I hadn't mentioned that."

"Well, now she knows."

"Why? I thought you were never going to tell her."

"I wasn't. But she started talking about how things would start changing around here and I just lost it. I had to tell her. I felt bad keeping it from her."

"When I told her about me, she was gonna try to report him. I think I talked her out of it."

"No one would believe her."

"That's what I said. This pie is really good."

"Yeah, it is." She sighed. "She said we wouldn't have to hide our friendship any longer. But that was before she knew."

"I don't want to hide it any longer. I want to be able to be as open as we were when we were younger."

"Me too. But this is a start, at least. She seemed ready to tell him he should just let us be. I think she still might. I just hope she doesn't make him angry. I don't want him lashing out at her."

Cosette sighed. "When that man came for me, he said my mother was dead. My real mother."

"Maybe he was lying."

"Maybe. I hope so. I miss her. I want to know why she even left me here. And I want to know how my Daddy is. I don't remember him at all."

"Well, maybe she'll come back one day and you can ask." Eponine secretly hoped her mother wouldn't come back. She didn't want to lose her friend. Sure, she wanted her to be happy, but she selfishly wanted to be happy herself, and Cosette made her happy.

"Maybe." She was half finished with her pie.

"And Mama says she's sorry. That she wouldn't protect us, that is. She wanted me to tell you that."

"Oh. It's not really her fault, though."

"That's what I said. She still feels bad, though. I would, too. If I had a kid and they got hit by their Daddy. I'd feel bad I couldn't stop it."

Cosette nodded. "So would I."

Eponine finished her pie. "That was really good. I hope there's enough left for another."

"I think I'm good with just the one."

"Are you sure? I've noticed how thin you've gotten recently. Surely another wouldn't hurt."

"I suppose it wouldn't. I'm just not used to getting seconds."

"I'm sorry for that, that you'd hardly get any food. But Mama says that's gonna change, too. 'No more missed meals', she said."

"She said something like that yesterday, too."

"That'll be good for you. You said you were tired of being hungry, and now you won't be as hungry." Eponine hugged her friend. "It'll be great!"

Cosette smiled. "What else did she say?"

"That she'll try to get him to stop making you work so hard."

"She really is being nice to me. It's weird."

"But it's good. And if she can get him to be nicer to you, that's good, too."

"Yeah. I don't think it'll be easy getting him to be nice to me, though."

"She'll do her best. That's really all we can ask for."

"I suppose." Cosette sighed and sat on the floor, crossing her legs. "I'm glad she's making an effort at all."

Eponine sat down beside her.

"I wonder what it's like to kiss a boy."

Eponine laughed. "Where did that come from?"

"I was just thinking and it popped into my head. What do you think it's like?"

"Well, I think it gives you butterflies and makes your knees weak. I think it's like sitting on a beach with the water running lightly over your toes, giving you a warm feeling where the water touches before the water leaves and there's just sand."

"That sounds… nice. I just think it'd be kinda wet. Like when a dog licks your face."

"It could very well be like that. But we won't really know 'till we've kissed a boy now, will we?"

"Guess not."

"I'd almost forgotten – it's my birthday tomorrow."

Cosette thought a moment. "So it is."

"Nine. So close to womanhood."

"What age is that?"

"Thirteen, I think."

"That's still four years to go, though. All of nine, then ten, eleven, and twelve."

"I think Mama said she was fifteen when she married Daddy."

Cosette shuddered. "That seems too quick."

"How old do you want to be when you marry?"

"I hope to be around seventeen. Maybe eighteen."

"Why so late?"

"Doesn't seem late to me. Though I do suppose I'd consider younger if I meet the right guy."

"And we'll be at each other's weddings, right?"

"Of course. I couldn't get married without my best friend there."

Eponine smiled and hugged her. "You are my bestest friend ever. You always will be."

Cosette hugged her friend back. "So are you, for always." She thought a moment. "I wonder if we'll actually celebrate my birthday this year, seeing as it's only a few months after yours."

"If you want me to I'll ask Mama about it. Maybe we could get cake."

"That alone would be great. I wonder if there will be cake tomorrow."

"I'm not sure. Honestly, I think Mama may have forgotten about my birthday. Can't really blame her after what I told her. Who could think about birthdays after that? I think I've made her hate Daddy, though."

"Good. He hates us, why shouldn't she hate him?"

"But she loves him, I think, still. I mean, they've been together at least nine or ten years now. After that long, no matter how much you dislike someone, there's still a little love left, isn't there?"

"I wonder if he loves anyone anymore. Maybe all he loves is money, now."

"That'd be sad. I mean, marriage is about loving someone, right? He should still love Mama at least a little bit. If he didn't, why stay with us? He could easily leave, if he wanted to."

"Why leave when you can order everyone around?" Cosette asked. "Maybe it's more fun for him to stay and push us around than leave and find someone else."

Eponine sighed. "This is one twisted family. If nothing else, at least I know Mama loves me. And I love her. And you, of course. How could I not love my best friend?"

Cosette smiled. "Happy early birthday, Eponine."

"Thank you, Cosette."

Ivonne's poodle ran into the room and joined them, curling up at Eponine's feet. She sighed. "The things I went through for you, you silly dog." She patted its head gently.

"I'm sorry about that, that couldn't have been fun."

"It certainly wasn't. Hurt like the worst thing you cam imagine times ten."

"Ouch."

"Yeah."

"Next time he gets out, I'll help you get him. I don't care if it's with you or Madame Thénardier, I'm helping."

"I'm sure that'd be helpful. Just don't get yourself pinned like I did. You don't want to feel that pain."

"Yeah, don't go running under carts, pup," Cosette spoke to the dog. "Lucky you didn't get squished. Next time you probably will."

The dog wagged its tail, having no idea what the words spoken to it had meant.


End file.
